Tie-plate.



E. E. ROBERTS.

TIE PLATE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22. 1914.

Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

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THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH ,cO., WASHINGTON n C UNIT D straTEs PATENT, oE roE.

EDGAR E. ROBERTS, or JACKSON, rENNEssEE, AssioNoa 10E ONE-HALF T0 DAM ELL, or DETROIT, MICHIGAN. I V

" TIE-ELATE.

To all whom 2'25 may concern) 7 U Be it known that I, EDGAR E.:ROBERTS, a

citizen'of the UnitedStates, and resident of, Jackson, in the county of Madison and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tie-Plates; and I do hereby declare that the; following is a full, clear, and-exact description thereof.

My invention has for its object to provide a simple, economical and quickly ad usted cord fastener, thesame being particularly adapted for tying packages and arranged with a view to utilizing such fasteners generally, in tying and wrapping, to thus avoid knotting the cord. I

It is obvious that the cord, in connection with the tie mechanism may be utilized indefinitely and, when worn, can be readily replaced. ,1 V V p The mechanism shown and'described is especially adapted for use by railway mail clerks or the like in bundlingletters, etc., but it is' understood that the said tie may be utilized generally. Y

With the above objects in view the invention consists in certain peculiaritiesof construction and combination of mechanical .parts asset forth hereinafter withjreference to the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed. I

In the drawings Figure 1 represents a plan view of a tie-plate embodying the features of my invention, the same being shown with parts broken away and in section to more clearly illustrate structural features and applied as a binder for a stack of letters, and Fig. 2, a sectional plan view of the same, the section being indicated by line 2-2 of Fig. 1. 7

Referring by characters to the drawings, 1 represents the cheek-piece of a tie plate having a gripping foot 1 projecting therefrom, the same being provided with a cen-' tral aperture whereby the thumb of the operator, when placed upon the foot, will engage the surface thereunder and hold the plate in its proper position upon the face of the uppermost article of a stack to be tied. The lower face of the tie-plate, as shown, is uninterrupted, whereby it will snugly hug the surface upon which it is seated. The

cheek-piece is apertured at one end for the reception of a cord'A, whichcord is secured within the aperture by knotting or any other convenient method. The cheek-piece is pro- Specifieation of Letters I atent.

obliquely movable jaw will be resisted by was? vided with an overhanging lip 2, whereby a cha'nnel'is formed between said lip and the opposite face of the cheek-piece. The ,chan 9 ml is formed with an -fobliquely disposed is also provided with an obliquely. disposed slot 3", nto which is fitted a shoe 4-, the said faces of the cheek-piece and up; Ihis shoe is secured by rivets 5 as shown. Thestraight gripping face of the movable jaw is pro: vided with serrations 6 and saidgripping face is arrangedin approximate parallel relation to the opposite face of a fixed gripping jaw 7 the said jaw faces being upon a common plane. Projecting above the fixed gripping jaw 7 is a guide tongue 8, which tongue, as shown, is upon a higher plane than the gripping faces of the jaws and is preferably grooved to form a cord seat.

While I have shown and described a shoe- 7 for guiding the slidingor'movable gripping jaw rectangular in shape, it is understood that circular pins may be substituted for the elongated shoe without departing fromthe spirit-of my invention, and it is also inanifest that there may be a slight space, in some instances, betweenthe rearface 3'1 of the jaw and channel shoulder 2', in which in stance all of the strain placed upon the the shoe.

V In the operation of my device it is apparent that the tie-plate is placedin: the position'shownin Fig. 1 and, under ordinary conditions, the pad of the thumb'of;

the left hand is fitted into theaperture-of the gripping foot, whereby the plate is rigidly held in its correct position. The cord which projects from the cheek-piece is then wrapped in a' longitudinal direction about the bundle and inserted in the channel of the guide-tongue 8, whereby a stay-corner. for the cord is formed. The cord is thereafter looped about the bundle at a rightangle to the first loopand the free'end of said cord is then 'drawndownward inothe groove formed by the gripping faces of the. fixed and movable jaw members. The free} end is thus seated upon a lower plane than that section of the cord which is fitted in the guide-tongue and, after pulling the free shoe filling the space between the opposite g g Patented'Feb;22,191 6.' Application filed May 22,1914. Seria1No.840,290; r s 1 1 so P end of the cord in the direction indicated by the arrow, it is apparent that all of the slack in said cord is taken up and that the bundle is tightly bound. This forward draw of the free end of the cord will cause in the same directhe sliding jaw 0 L0 niove tion slightly and when said free end is released, tension oi the cord in retracting will cause the slidable'jawto move with the cord and thus the gripping faces of the jaws will be brought together to firmly lock the confined end of the cord in the position shown. It is obvious that, to release the tie, the cord is pulled in the same direction as indicated by the arrow, whereby the movable jaw will release its grip andthereafter the cord can readily be removed.

It is also obvious that I may, without departing from the spirit of my invention, if

desired, employ a spring in connection with the hinge aw, whereby it will be positively forced into .a cord-gripping position with relation. to the fixed jaw.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that a simple and efiective tie-plate is produced wherein 'bundles or letters can be quickly confined by a cord or freed from said cord with a maximum speed, it being borne in mind that in the mail service, for example, speed in such matters is an important item.

It is also obvious that, while I have shown a tie-plate in approximate proportions, said proportions may be varied indefinitely with- I out departing from the scope of my invention.

I claim: 7 p 1. A' cord tie comprising a base: having one end portion provided with a cord-end engaging slot, said base having a slot .eX-.

tending transverselythereacross, one wall of the slot being obliquely disposed and provided with an overhanging lip, wedge guide inthe slot beneath the lip, a slid'able ates with the wedge to engage a cord and above said stationary jaw, the wall ofthe channel being provided with a cord-receiv-" ing groove.

2. A packagetie comprising a base pro-, vided with a knot-engaging P03313101! .at oneend, said base havinga transversely eXtending channel formed. therein,- one wall of said channel being oblique and provided with an:

overhanging lip, theopposite wall of said channel having a gripping surface and above and parallel with the said gripping surface L being provided with a cord-receiving groove,

and a movable jaw mounted within the channel under the lip thereof and cooperat ing with the grippingsurfacer In testimony that I claim the foregoing I,

have hereunto set my'ha-nd atJackson in the county of Madison and. State of Tenn, in the presence of two witnesses EDGAREE. ROBERTS. Witnesses:

G. C. VVILKINSOR, EZW. WEBB.

i copies of this Patent may be obtained for five cents each; by addressing the Commissioner. f patents,

Washington, 110. 

